You have to hand it to the baseball program, it's not easy to battle clubs from Lake County. One of those teams, Stevenson, finished third in the state a year ago. But you don't get better by playing weak teams.
So coach Brian Bogda extended invitations to Stevenson and Deerfield last week.
A split would be good in this case and that's what happened. Stevenson was the foe on March 31 and Bogda was pleased with the way his club stayed with this state power. Maybe if the defense was a little stronger, the Gators might have pulled this one out. Stevenson prevailed 9-6.
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"I was impressed with how we hung with a very solid Stevenson team,'' Bogda said. "However, I really hoped that we could take care of the baseball a little bit more in the field."
Six of the nine Stevenson runs were unearned. That made Robbie Lemke the tough-luck loser.
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"I think not playing outside very much accounted for some of those mistakes, but still that’s no excuse,'' Bogda added.
There was some good news: CLS actually out-hit the Pats. Chris Hauser had three hits and scored two runs. Ryan Price banged out a pair of doubles. Max Meitzler added two hits and Chris Morrison scored two runs.
Saturday's visit from Deerfield was more pleasant. Brandon Seiser became the team's first two-game winner in the Gators' 7-5 win. CLS (4-2) received a save in relief from Zack Geib.
The Gators watched Deerfield strike first with two runs in the third inning. South answered back with a three-spot in the home half of the inning.
Tyler Salm had a three-hit day. Hauser , Meitzler and Jeremy DeJesus both chipped in a pair of hits. Will Ashmann pinch-hit a run-scoring single.
Conference play began on Tuesday with visiting Grayslake North pulling out a 3-1 win. Nick Martin struck out nine Knights but the offense couldn't put hits together. There were some extra base hits—catcher Dom Winiecki homered for the team's lone run, Hauser tripled and Meitzler added a double.
The Gators will look for some revenge Thursday at Grayslake North. Rivalry day is Friday at South when CLC visits.
Central: The Tigers found a couple of hot bats in the early going. Nate Pollock cracked a homer on Monday. Jake Walkner is also hitting well. But the Tigers fell to Fremd 6-2.
Last week, coach Dan Badgley's club fell to Hampshire 12-6.
"We are doing OK, but we still need to continue to improve,'' Badgley said.
Prairie Ridge: The Wolves, who lost to St. Charles East on Monday, look for a rebound against Grayslake Central on Friday.
